It was a good year! Thirty-six individuals competed across a spectrum of five Revolutionary War games at RevCon during Prezcon in Charlottesville, Virginia last week.

As always, players either played in only a single favorite game, in multiple games, or they competed in all five games in pursuit of the coveted “George Washington Award” for excellence in American Revolutionary War gaming. This year’s “George,” as we affectionately call the plaque, was once again provided by friend of the series Tim Miller with Miller EG Designs. We are grateful to Tim for his generosity.

1775 Rebellion

Jeff Lange Sr. did double duty this year as GM for both Academy Games “1775 Rebellion” and Compass Games “Commands & Colors: Tricorn.”  1775 drew very well with nineteen players, a RevCon 1775 record. All games played at RevCon, except for the BoAR series, are played using a single-elimination format. In this year’s contest David Schneider took first place and garnered 14 RevCon points, Wade Emmons earned second place and 12 RevCon points and Avery Abernethy finished third with 8 RevCon points.

RevCon points are earned as follows. One point for entering an event. Two points for every victory in a preliminary round. Three points for a third-place finish. Five points for second place finish and seven points for first place. These points are accumulated all week in every game a player enters, and, at weeks-end, all points are totaled to determine the winner of the “George.”  Players also receive Prezcon plaques for winning each event as well as Prezcon Prestige Points for finishing in the top four.

Liberty

After about a ten-year hiatus, Columbia Games “Liberty” was returned to the RevCon lineup. This year, by prior agreement with Michael Sosa who runs Columbia Con, results from Liberty would count for both tournaments, RevCon AND Columbia Con. As hoped, this dual approach attracted more players than if Liberty had been offered in one tournament or the other only. Fifteen players participated. A quick scan of the roster suggests that of the fifteen players, eight were RevCon regulars while seven were Columbia Con block gamers.

The afore-mentioned Michael Sosa won first place and 14 RevCon points, Tyler Sastre took second place and captured 12 RevCon points while Frank Cunliffe finished third earning 10 RevCon points. It is noteworthy that the win, place and show all went to Columbia Con regulars in this event. Nevertheless, everyone was deeply engaged in the game and happy to have it reemerge after so long. By agreement with GM Daniel Berger, we will offer Liberty again next year in the RevCon line up so start practicing now 😉

Freeman’s Farm 1777

Dave Stiffler was our GM for Worthington Games “Freeman’s Farm 1777.” This unique design by Professor Maurice Suckling is fast paced and challenging. It is primarily based on unit morale and momentum, as well as on the accumulation of tactical options at a player’s discretion. Movement and combat are abstracted but that does not deter from the excitement.

Ten players competed with Peter Putnam winning first place and 14 RevCon points. Mark Miklos took second place and with it, 12 RevCon points. Pat Mirk finished third with 8 RevCon points.

Commands & Colors: Tricorn

The final game in the other-than-BoAR line up at this year’s RevCon was Compass Games “Commands & Colors: Tricorn.”  GM Jeff Lange provided chess clocks to manage the time limit for each round, which proved to be a good thing and which he may use more broadly in other games he GMs in the future. This edition in the Commands & Colors franchise is unique in that two decks of cards are used; and activation deck and a tactics deck. Additionally, units that retreat must make morale checks and may quit the field, yielding victory tokens to their opponent. This is more likely with militia than with elite units such as British Highlanders or Grenadiers, as one would expect.

I will indulge in a quick observation. It is good to see other designers adapting the importance of unit morale into their Rev War designs, such as Freeman’s Farm 1777 and Commands & Colors: Tricorn. Breaking the enemy’s will to fight was tantamount to victory in this conflict and occurred far more often than sanguine outcomes. The BoAR Series is anchored upon and aptly demonstrates this fact. And since imitation is the best form of flattery, I am glad to see the importance that these designers have placed on the element of morale.

Fifteen players competed in this event. Brian DeWitt was the winner with 14 RevCon points. David Schneider took second place and 12 RevCon points. Avery Abernethy finished third with 8 RevCon points. David’s 2^nd place finish put him in the lead for the “George” with 26 RevCon points through the four events.

Battles of the American Revolution

The BoAR event used a Heat format and even while the other games were occurring, BoAR Heats were also in the daily schedule. A total of eighteen players flowed through the Heats where one could keep playing whether one lost, won, or tied a game. After four Heats were played, the top-8 players were identified using the time-tested BoAR tournament scoring system and those players became the quarter finalists. BoAR scoring gives +4/-2 for a decisive victory, +3/-1 for a substantial victory, +2/0 for a marginal victory, and +1/+1 for a draw. Where these “tournament points” are tied, the first tie-break is cumulative army morale points, and the second tie break is cumulative victory points.

Heat-1 Germantown

Thirteen players gathered for H-1 on Monday morning. and the bye went to Mark Miklos, last year’s champion. In the six ensuing matches, the British won four and the Americans won two. Both American victories were substantial as Don Hanle drove Chris Mlynarczyk’s army morale to zero while Bruno Sinigaglio did the same thing to Bob Hamilton.

On the British side, all four victories were marginal, based upon end-of-game VP margins. Victories were awarded to Bruce Cota over Jeff Lange Sr., Dave Stiffler over Clyde Longest, Curtiss Fyock over Charles Orndorff, and Tim Miller over Pat Mirk.

Friendly Fire by Stephen’s American division was not a deciding factor in any of the games although it did occur in the Sinigaglio vs. Hamilton match where a substantial portion of Bruno’s left wing evaporated in panic. By then, however, the outcome was all but decided.

Heat-2 Eutaw Springs

H-2 was played on Monday evening, and it drew seventeen players. The bye went to Dave Stiffler who was the next most recent champion present. The British again had the advantage winning five matches, all marginally. Bill Morse defeated Bruce Cota, Tim Miller defeated Bob Hamilton, Father Todd Carter defeated Curtiss Fyock, Don Hanle defeated Jim Lawler, and Jeff Lange, Sr. defeated Clyde Longest.

On the American side, Bruno Sinigaglio racked up a second substantial victory by defeating Bill Alderman while Pat Mirk’s rebels defeated Chris Mlynarczyk marginally. One contest ended in a draw, which is not an uncommon occurrence in this battle. Here, Mark Miklos held on to the British camp for three VP while Father Eric Tolentino garnered three points by causing Mark casualties. The tie was broken by army morale where Father Eric’s 15 points outmatched Mark’s 9 points making Father Eric the winner of the contest.

Heat-3 Saratoga/Freeman’s Farm Scenario: Match Play

Fifteen players were prepared to join battle on Tuesday evening at Saratoga where the Freman’s Farm scenario would be played using a match-play format. Each pair of contestants would play the battle twice, switching sides. The best cumulative score would be declared the winner.

Since there was again an odd number of players, the third bye of the tournament was offered first to Bruno Sinigaglio, who refused it, and next to Bill Morse, who also refused it. The offer devolved to Don Hanle who accepted the bye in this Heat.

The British continued to roll posting five victories to the Americans’ two. Curtiss Fyock posted the first decisive victory of the tournament with a British win over Jeff Lange Sr. Father Todd Carter earned a substantial British victory when Pat Mirk’s Americans surrendered before the match concluded. Bruce Cota posted a British marginal victory over Father Eric Tolentino. The next two British marginal wins were decided by army morale tie break. Bill Morse and Mark Miklos each had a marginal victory, but Bill’s cumulative morale total was twenty-six while Mark’s was twenty-five. At the other table, Chris Mlynarczyk and Bruno Sinigaglio each also won marginally. The tie was broken by army morale, twenty-seven for Bruno and sixteen for Chris.

While the American side was winning fewer games overall to this point, they were winning bigger as in the case of a substantial win by Dave Stiffler over Bob Hamilton. Meanwhile, Clyde Longest’s Americans won marginally over Tim Miller.

Heat-4 White Plains/Chatterton Hill Scenario: Match Play

H-4 also used the match play format as players contested for the heights on Chatterton Hill at White Plains. Although we initially had twelve players for this Heat, Bruno had been suffering from an Achilles heel injury all week and it flared to the point that he had to leave the premises to seek medical attention. He eventually returned to the Con but for now, it left us with eleven players which meant that once again, a bye would be needed. It was taken this time by Father Todd Carter.

While the British once again had the edge, it was a nearer run thing with the redcoats taking three contests and the Americans two. A marginal victory is not available to either side by the scenario rules and all five matches ended in decisive victories.

British victories were earned by Mark Miklos, Dave Stiffler, and Bill Morse over Bruce Cota, Chris Mlynarczyk, and Tim Miller, respectively. On the American side, Clyde Longest defeated Curtiss Fyock and Don Hanle defeated Bob Hamilton.

Quarter Final, Rhode Island

After four Heats, the top eight players were Don Hanle with twelve tournament points (TP), 63 Army Morale (AM), and 24.5 victory points (VP.)  The second seed was Dave Stiffler, 11 TP, 63 AM, and 31.5 VP. Third seed was Father Todd with 9 TP, 47 AM, and 18 VP. The fourth seed was Bruno Sinigaglio at 8 TP, 43 AM, and 25.5 VP. Leading the bottom four quarter finalists was Bill Morse with 8 TP, 40 AM, and 18.5 VP. Mark Miklos was next with 7 TP, 57 AM and 19 VP. The seventh seed was Clyde Longest at 6 TP, 44 AM, and 6.5 VP. The eighth and final seed was Curtiss Fyock with 4 TP, 53 AM, and 14.5 VP. From here on it would be single elimination and the stage was set for Hanle vs. Fyock, Stiffler vs. Longest, Carter vs. Miklos, and Sinigaglio vs. Morse.

Each side won two of the matches. Bill Morse’s Americans defeated Bruno decisively in what can only be described as a blood bath. Players remarked at how they had seldom seen casualties piled as high in any previous playing of Rhode Island. Given the “straight-ahead” nature of each player’s playing style, however, it is not particularly surprising. The other British victory was marginal when Mark defeated Father Todd.

On the American side, Curtiss Fyock defeated Don Hanle marginally. At the other table, Dave Stiffler was experiencing an attack of gout. It had been building for a couple of hours and got so severe that could barely concentrate while in pain. He surrendered to Clyde Longest midway through the game which earned Clyde a substantial victory. Dave went home (he lives about an hour away) and sought medical attention the next day. He never returned to Prezcon either to compete or GM, but he did drop in for about an hour, walking with a cane and a slow and careful stride, to check how things were going during the Final on Saturday.

As has been previously reported, Dave was inducted into the Prezcon Hall of Fame during this convention. That occurred on Tuesday during a luncheon and ceremony. Dave has won six George Washington Awards in the eighteen years we have been holding RevCon; an impressive accomplishment indeed. I have checked in with both Bruno and Dave since returning home and each say they are on the mend.

Semi-Final, Monmouth Courthouse/Lee’s Advance Scenario

Pairings were set for the semi-final with Bill Morse’s Americans taking on Curtiss Fyock’s British while Mark Miklos’ Americans squared it up with Clyde Longest’s British. Each side won once.

Bill Morse managed a clear marginal victory over Curtiss. At the other table it was a close-run thing. Clyde and Mark ended in a draw and once again, army morale would be the deciding factor. Clyde’s 20 was the stronger performance over Mark’s 18 and thus Clyde advanced to face Bill Morse in the final.

It was at about this time that Mark realized that he had just won the George Washington Award. At first Mark thought he was not only out of BoAR but also out of the hunt for “George” by virtue of his loss to Clyde. It then dawned on him that he had just finished third in BoAR. His draw with Clyde ended in a morale tie-break which was a stronger finish than Curtiss’s outright marginal loss to Bill. That third place finish garnered Mark +3 RevCon points.

Mark had been chasing Schneider’s twenty-six points with twenty-four of his own. Simple arithmetic revealed that he now had twenty-seven points, one more than David Schneider. The next closest player was Pat Mirk with twenty points and Pat was already in the clubhouse and off the course and would not be scoring any more points. Furthermore, neither Clyde nor Bill had enough RevCon points to contend regardless of who won the BoAR Final the next day because BoAR was the only event each of them had entered during the week. And so, grasping elation from the jaws of despair, Mark celebrated his overall RevCon championship. Wow, talk about an emotional rollercoaster!

Final, Brandywine Creek

We would be using the full Brandywine campaign game including the optional intelligence rules known as “Muddying the Waters of Brandywine Creek” for this year’s Final. No turn-by-turn log was kept during this match, but the following can be shared.

Bill Morse was the British and Clyde the Americans when play started at 9:00 AM on Saturday morning. The game was played on the four-foot x six-foot “Big Board Games” map and it lasted a brisk seven hours, ending just past 4:00 PM.

Bill elected to do a Recon of Jefferies Ford according to the intel rules and paid -1 AM for the privilege of knowing the ford’s condition. Clyde’s Americans seemed content to remain in the dark and did not recon. In the end, the ford was rated “hindered” which meant it was open to all units, but artillery would be delayed one game turn in crossing.

The “muddy” rules allow the British player to countermarch and reenter the map at entry hex B, Starved Gut Road, regardless of the condition at the ford. This ploy has the potential to further deceive the Americans however Bill played it conventionally and brought Howe’s entire flanking column on at Osborne Hill, just as in the standard campaign game.

Meanwhile, Clyde took advantage of what observers felt was a premature attack by Knyphausen’s forces at Chadd’s Ford. British and Hessian attacks went in unsupported and American counter attacks were swift and destructive, killing two British leaders early in the contest to boot.

Sensing blood in the water, Clyde pushed Greene’s wing over the Brandywine on T-4 and observers witnessed something seldom before seen in this game, a full-on line of battle between American and British forces on the British side of the Brandywine. This American push was getting the better of the Brits, who had to methodically refuse their right to avoid envelopment.

On turn six, according to schedule, the main British column appeared cresting Osborne Hill. Given that Clyde’s gambit was to win on points against Knyphausen, he did not even attempt to contest the Birmingham Hill and Meeting House, instead leaving them to the onrushing Brits. Clyde’s American line was thin on this front and so he but kept it well back, behind Sandy Bottom and in front of Dilworth town. Even at full speed, the advancing British could not close the distance before action on the other front ended the game on T-9.

Bill’s army morale was fatigued but not so low that he still could not make a fight of it. Casualties, however, were piling up. At one point the GM and AGM (Don Hanle having stepped in to the latter role after Dave Stiffler left the Con), asked the players to leave the room so that total casualties, including reduced units on the board, could be counted.

One of the decisive victory conditions for the Americans is to capture or eliminate at least 15 SP of British and Hessian units, other than artillery, and at least twice more than they themselves have lost. With four witnesses looking on, and after four accountings, it was determined that the score was 20-10 in Clyde’s favor and precisely what Clyde needed for an American decisive victory.

Clyde Longest blazed upon the BoAR scene like Charles XII, the Swedish Meteor. He made us all stand up and take notice. He was a courteous player and a gracious champion. Congratulations to Clyde and to Bill Morse for a hard-fought second place finish.

Concluding Thoughts

In addition to providing great game play and camaraderie, this year’s RevCon also allowed us to playtest Cowpens, the flagship game in the “Small BoAR” Series as well as Green Spring, Volume XI in the BoAR Series. I am satisfied that each is ready for listing on GMT’s P-500 so be watching for that.

The Prezcon boys; Earnie, Kim, Shane, Mark, and Brian were great as always. They are so hospitable and accommodating and a joy to work with. Thanks also to Doubletree for once again permitting RevCon to decorate the walls, play music and otherwise create an 18^th century atmosphere for RevCon.

This was the 18^th RevCon. Except for the plague year, it has occurred consecutively since 2006. Talk is underway about how we might make the 20^th anniversary a special one. Those who attended the 10^th anniversary will remember that we tried hard to make it memorable. The 20^th anniversary will also coincide with the 250^th anniversary of American Indiependence in 2026 so what more fitting occasion than that to let it all hang out. Please block your calendars now for February 2026 and make plans to attend Prezcon/RevCon to help us celebrate.

Thanks to everyone who helped make RevCon a success, especially those like my friend and traveling companion Don Hanle, who do so much behind the scenes. And thanks especially to all the players whose support makes it all possible.

Mark Miklos

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